Nobody can now be in any doubt: this is not a war to "liberate Kuwait'. All the UN resolutions were a fig-leaf.
The US and its allies are bent on the destruction of Iraq.
Not just the elimination of Saddam, but the obliteration of Iraq's military, economic and political strength. However many thousands of civilians and soldiers are killed.
The armies and armadas in the Gulf - still being daily reinforced -are being prepared for a huge land battle which involves the invasion and conquest of Iraq. Why? Because Bush and Major see the Ba'athist Iraqi government as a threat to their domination of the region. And because an Iraqi government which dominates the Gulf would wield huge financial power internationally.
No socialist would defend the dictatorial Iraqi regime. But the Ba'athist government, in however distorted a way, is an Arab nationalist force. Arab nationalism since World War 2 has meant continual conflict the aims of imperialism. It threatens to unleash a wave of revolt among the people of the Middle East.
Defeating Iraq is a huge military task. Thousands, tens of thousands, will die in the coming weeks unless this war is stopped. The 'new world order'which we West wants after the Cold War has been exposed: it is a world order kept free for profits and imperial might by relentless violence against the third world. The violence of war; the violence of debt; the violence of poverty and hunger caused by the ruthless exploitation of the multinational corporations.
America's war cannot achieve freedom and democracy for Iraq or Kuwait. What will happen if Iraq is conquered? Military goverment by the allies - followed by a puppet dictatorship, which will carry out a ruthless political purge.
There is no progressive Western solution to the problems of the Middle East. Only the Arab people themselves can finish off dictatorship.
But a war to the finish is not inevitable, neither is the utter destruction of Iraq. The peace movement internationally has mobilised millions. In the USA the movement is already bigger than during the Vietnam war. In Britain we must go beyond the peace movement to mobilise inside the labour movement against the pro-war line of Kinnock and Willis. The anti-war movement can win, if we act with determination - and in time. Gulf War Special * Why the US went to war * Why we say 'Defend Iraq' * Gorby's Quid Pro Quo US.P Women around the world are mobllising against the Gulf war - see back page